Back in 2016 I ran into four young troopers who had just completed the first TAPV drivers course. They were all excited about having a new vehicle to drive, but they were universal in saying it was not a reconnaissance vehicle. They concluded it was too big, heavy, unwieldy and poor cross country.
By chance, a couple of years later, I spoke to the Textron Canada project chief and he assured me the army got exactly what they asked for. I guess my point is that the young soldiers knew what they needed to do their job, but other considerations got in the way during the procurement process. I just hope the Ukraine army appreciates the survivability enhancements.
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